California Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled over to NBC and Late Night with Seth Meyers on Wednesday to recap his Fox News debate with GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis where he smeared DeSantis as “anti-black” and, ironically considering he was on Late Night, lamented that Fox was an echo chamber. Meanwhile, Meyers wondered why Republicans are obsessed with San Francisco, despite admitting it has “very real problems.”
About the debate, Meyers wondered, “When you started planning this, did you have higher expectations for where DeSantis would be in the polls?”
Newsom replied by going nasty bender against DeSantis:
No, I didn't. I'll be honest with you, I've, and I'm dead serious about this, I developed a lot of animus towards him because of his animus towards all of you. You know, this guy is out there scapegoating vulnerable communities. He's attacking minorities, attacking women, and I don't like it and I wanted to push back against it and I felt like the party was a little timid on all this I mean, you know, he's out there talking about anti-woke, and I mean this, for me it's not anti-woke, what he really means is anti-black he's out there censoring historic facts, he's rewriting history. He was out there, you know, he eliminated AP African American Studies. He said slavery was somehow a workforce development program and he doubled down on that.
Florida’s standards say that slaves learned skills that were later useful in life, not that slavery was some sort of benign job training program.
Meanwhile, Meyers has previously displayed enough self-awareness to know that his show is basically just primetime MSNBC with eccentric metaphors, but Newsom claimed it is Fox that is the echo chamber, “So for me, it's a very serious moment where I just felt it was important to blow back against that, against that narrative and hold these guys accountable on a network where they don't hear from guys like me, ever.”
Sticking with the debate, Meyers agreed “They certainly don't and well said” and declared “we've read a lot about what happened, and there were maybe some rules were broken and maybe the teleprompter was, you know maybe tilted –”
Again, Newsom concurred, suggesting even the location of the debate was proof that it was stacked against him “What are you going to expect? It's Fox, it's in a red state. It's, you know, with Hannity, who has been out there platforming DeSantis 40 or 50 times.”
Later, Meyers turned to San Francisco, “Now it is obviously a major city in a state you're the governor of. San Francisco, a lot of big cities are having the problems of San Francisco, but it does feel like, you know, Republicans, conservatives, they try to make that the avatar for what's wrong with Democratic policies. What is it about San Francisco and also, those are very real problems that San Francisco has how do you even start to address them?”
Newsom couldn’t even defend the city, instead he tried to suggest Republicans have some sort of Pelosi Derangement Syndrome, “they've been on a doom loop about San Francisco ever since Nancy Pelosi became Speaker.”
He also claimed “California has outperformed the American economy, it's the tent pole of the American recovery. Twenty-seven percent of all American jobs came from the state just last month, it's the fifth largest economy in the world and its values are in stark contrast, the difference is daylight and darkness between the Republican Party, so for Fox, One America News, that thing Newsmax, you were referencing earlier, they have to focus on our failures in order for them to be right.”
Politicians are focusing on the other party’s failures? Why, that’s never happened before.
Here is a transcript for the December 13-taped show:
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers
12/14/2023
12:57 AM ET
SETH MEYERS: Did you -- but when you started planning this, did you have higher expectations for where DeSantis would be in the polls?
GAVIN NEWSOM: No, I didn't. I'll be honest with you, I've, and I'm dead serious about this, I developed a lot of animus towards him because of his animus towards all of you. You know, this guy is out there scapegoating vulnerable communities. He's attacking minorities, attacking women, and I don't like it and I wanted to push back against it and I felt like the party was a little timid on all this I mean, you know, he's out there talking about anti-woke, and I mean this, for me it's not anti-woke, what he really means is anti-black he's out there censoring historic facts, he's rewriting history. He was out there, you know, he eliminated AP African American Studies. He said slavery was somehow a workforce development program and he doubled down on that.
So for me, it's a very serious moment where I just felt it was important to blow back against that, against that narrative and hold these guys accountable on a network where they don't hear from guys like me, ever.
MEYERS: They certainly don't and well said, you went into it and I think everybody knew you were going into it, that it would be a two-on-one situation I don't think there was any expectation that, you know, Sean Hannity had a horse in that race, and it wasn't you, but was there dirty pool because we've read a lot about what happened, and there were maybe some rules were broken and maybe the teleprompter was, you know maybe tilted –
NEWSOM: Yeah, yeah. I mean, all of the -- you know, come on. What are you going to expect? It's Fox, it's in a red state. It's, you know, with Hannity, who has been out there platforming DeSantis 40 or 50 times but look, I guess the whole question, and this is the debate we're having in this country, do we-- is it smart to engage on their terms?
And I feel like it's important, man. We're just in these -- we're living in two different worlds, right.
MEYERS: Yes.
NEWSOM: These are microcults and people are in this filter-bubble, only listening to one thing all the time and that's why I started going on Fox and that's why I thought it was important to have a 90-minute live debate, at least so I could assert or push back also, I mean this, and I mean this in my core, it was an honor to be there, to tell the truth about the Biden record and to make the case for Biden's re-election.
…
MEYERS: Now it is obviously a major city in a state you're the governor of. San Francisco, a lot of big cities are having the problems of San Francisco, but it does feel like, you know, Republicans, conservatives, they try to make that the avatar—
NEWSOM: Yeah.
MEYERS: -For what's wrong with Democratic policies. What is it about San Francisco and also, those are very real problems that San Francisco has—
NEWSOM: Yeah.
MEYERS: -- how do you even start to address them?
NEWSOM: Well, I mean, first, you own the issues, and then you start to address the issues but look, they've been on a doom loop about San Francisco ever since Nancy Pelosi became Speaker.
MEYERS: Yeah.
NEWSOM: I mean, let’s remember, California is -- Nancy Pelosi’s the speaker of San Francisco, you got Kamala Harris was a former senator from California. California has outperformed the American economy, it's the tent pole of the American recovery. Twenty-seven percent of all American jobs came from the state just last month, it's the fifth largest economy in the world and its values are in stark contrast, the difference is daylight and darkness between the Republican Party, so for Fox, One America News, that thing Newsmax, you were referencing earlier, they have to focus on our failures in order for them to be right.
And so, we're used to it out there. And yet we still maintain our resiliency and I'll tell you, San Francisco is a special place, it is a unique and special place. Incredibly resilient and vibrant and I'm very proud of it and yeah, I'm defensive about it, as we are here in New York and other places I'm driving around New York. Are you kidding? This place during the holidays—
MEYERS: It’s really good.
NEWSOM: -- is there anything else like it in the world—
MEYERS: Yeah.
NEWSOM: -- it's beautiful so don't believe all that negativity.
